<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Somebody's got to do it, and it's not going to be an Indiana Pacers player or coach, so it might as well be me. I'm guaranteeing Game 6. I can't tell you who's going to win Game 6, but I can guarantee there will be a Game 6. Good heavens, man, go out on a limb! Show some faith! Be a MAN, like that Tom guy who won "Survivor"! OK, fine. The Pacers, the same Pacers who have lost the last two playoff games to the Pistons by roughly 1,300 points -- give or take a thousand -- will win Game 6 Thursday night at Conseco Fieldhouse. As for Game 7, hey, they're on their own. There's only so much a dumpy little sports columnist can do in a short space of time. Yes, I know Tuesday night was bad. I know Game 5 here at the Palace of Auburn Hills was as much fun as a case of the shingles. I know the statistics, which show that 84 percent of teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 series win that series. I know that it's humbling, if not downright humiliating, when Darko Milicic is called upon to finish off the proceedings for the Pistons and ultimately outscores Jamaal Tinsley, three points to two. I saw it, you saw it and, sadly, many Hoosier youngsters saw the carnage, which might leave them psychologically scarred for years. "The last 31 minutes were dismal," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after the Pacers' 86-67 loss to the Detroit Pistons. "No getting around it. As (former coach) Bill Fitch used to say, 'When you stink, you stink.' And we stunk."</div> Source
I wouldn't be surprised if the Pacer take this series to 7-games, but I would be surprised if they won. The way the Pistons played in game 5, it is difficult to imagine them losing 2 games in a row now.
I think the series will go 7 as well, but unfortunately, I see the Pistons winning the series...as much as I would love to see the Pacers win for Reggie's farewell tour, I just think the Pistons have too good of a team...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kingrex:</div><div class="quote_post">I wouldn't be surprised if the Pacer take this series to 7-games, but I would be surprised if they won. The way the Pistons played in game 5, it is difficult to imagine them losing 2 games in a row now.</div>The Pistons played good but give credit where credit is due: the Pacers played terrible. They didn't move the ball around, they couldn't land an open jumpshot if their lives depended on it, they didn't put the ball on the floor, their defense was horrible, and they played like they had no heart. At one point Rasheed blocked a shot, they moved the ball up court, and Rasheed came all the way from the other end of the court caught a pass and dunked on them. As a player, I would be embarassed if I were to ever let that happen. That play represents the kinda heart and effort the Pacers played with.
I will be surprised If this series doesn't end tomorrow. Indiana don't seem to have much left and are overmatched. They have won more games than they should of done.
It wont be easy for the Pacers to force a game 7. They've been struggling offensively in their last 2 games, and Detroit have won those games considerably. The Pacers will be giving it all they have though, as they don't want Reggie's last home game to be a losing one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Heat4Life:</div><div class="quote_post">The Pistons played good but give credit where credit is due: the Pacers played terrible. </div> I do give credit where it's due. The Pistons defense took away everything the Pacers wanted to do. They played terribly because of that Pistons defense. The Pacers may play better in game 6, and maybe even win it, but I just don't see the Pistons losing 2 games in a row again.
It's funny, the last few years I have heard the same thing. "Teams played terrible, had nothing to do with the Pistons defense" "we just missed bad shots" e.t.c It goes on and on. Bucks, Nets, Pacers and Lakers fans used It all the time when they faced Detroit. The Pistons defense makes you look really bad. There isn't a quicker starting 5 from 1 to 5 in the NBA and the overall length of the Pistons makes life impossible for you.
